“I have always loved you this much,” she says. “I want to be with you in those dreams of yours. That’s been my only dream.”
A warm breeze blows Cammy’s hair into my face, bringing in the scent of lavender—definitely lavender. I’m sure now. The sensation forces a warmth through every inch of my body, making me see the full picture of the path we have both traveled down. “You know,” I sigh. “There was always something missing, from the moment you left me.”
“What do you mean?” she asks.
“You took half of my heart with you, and Ever took the other half. I was left for thirteen years with nothing but a missing heart.”
“And now?” She asks.
“You’re both back, and so is my heart.”
EPILOGUE
THREE YEARS LATER
"WE'RE GOING OUT for dinner tonight,” I tell Cammy. “Your parents are watching the kids.” Cammy walks into the kitchen where I’m concocting some breakfast she’ll surely pretend to love before adding a handful of salt.
“My parents offered to watch the kids tonight?” she questions. “Really?”
“Yeah, I asked, and they love me, what else would you expect?” Not sure that would have been the case when we were seventeen, but they were pretty happy when Ever came back into our lives. I’m almost positive they were relieved to find out I had been the father all along. Kissing ass has its benefits at age seventeen and thirty. In any case, Cammy noticed a change in her parents almost immediately when she told them Ever came to find us. They must have had a lot of guilt, and I’m guessing some of that will never go away, but in any case, everything worked out the way it was supposed to. I’m sure of that now.
“I’m just glad they’re back here in Connecticut now too. I guess Dad must be getting real bored with his retirement if he offered to watch three kids, though.”
“Actually, Ever is going to her friend’s for a sleepover,” I laugh.
“Ever isn’t the issue,” Cammy laughs. “The last time Aiden went to your parents’ house, he knocked over every picture frame on their coffee table and then spilled a vase full of water on their bed.”
“So, they raised me, and I’m guessing they assumed one of our kids would eventually follow my destructive path—it obviously had to be the youngest. It’s a thing, you know?” I say with a grin. “Besides, your parents haven’t experienced Aiden’s ways yet, so it’s a free chance to get away tonight. Plus, Gavin is usually pretty good, so he’ll balance it out.”
“Aiden’s terrible twos are no joke, AJ. Are you sure we should do this?”
“Cam,” I say, running my hands down the sides of her arms. “I promised to love you and sweep you off your feet whenever I have the chance to. It’s our anniversary and I’ve had this planned for more than two months now. I’m taking Aiden to daycare, and the other two to school. You have an appointment at the hair salon, then the spa, then the nail salon. When you’re done, come home and put on that sexy little black dress you’ve been saving for a special occasion. Then, meet me at the front door at six, sharp.”
I don’t waste moments. I don’t waste seconds. I treat the way I’m treated, and I love the way I’m loved. I’ve been given a second chance, and I will never take it for granted.
I’ve learned more about life in the past few years than I ever could have imagined, and this is my way to prove it.
“AJ, it’s not our anniversary,” she says, laughing as she presses her glass of orange juice up to her lips.
“It is,” I tell her.
“No, we got married in August, and it’s November. We celebrated three months ago, silly. You okay?”
“Today marks the beginning of our family’s anniversary, though,” I explain.
“You’ve lost me,” she says with question. I pull an envelope out of my back pocket, handing it to her. “What’s this?”
“Read it,” I say, reaching it out further to her.
She takes it and holds it still, looking at me like she’s scared to read whatever it is, so I take it back and slip the two papers out of the envelope.
Starting with the letter I received four months ago, one that I kept to myself for a particular reason, I read:
AJ,
I know this may come as a shock, hearing from me after all this time, but I’ve owed you more than an explanation for a very long time.
If our plans of no pasts ever worked out completely, our lives would have been unfulfilled, empty and a little meaningless. It was a life I was forced to live, but one I never should have let you live with me. I had no right bringing you into my life and burying your mind under the ground with mine. You stuck with me longer than I think anyone would ever stick with another person who acted the way I acted.